Diluted Insecurities
by KazuKomatsu
Summary: Hakuryuu helps Kouha understand the agony of pretending to be the faithful son of the murderer of his father and siblings.


Diluted Insecurities

The draconic scales of the Southern Creature glittered a luminescent blue in the fresh dawnlight as its snakelike body corkscrewed through the air preparing to strike. Kouha's feet were firmly planted in the soil at the shore of the lake from which the beast had emerged, and his hands tightly gripped his blackened sword that was pointed to the sky in opposition. With his teeth clenched and a bead of sweat rolling down the side of his face, his eyes anxiously focused on the soaring serpent. The adjacent mountain brought a cool gust down to the reservoir at its base, scattering Kouha's crimson hair in the air like a forest fire.

With a deep screech, the serpent dipped downwards toward Kouha with its fangs bared. It approached at lightning speed, and Kouha tensed his muscles in anticipation. The leviathan's mouth opened wide as it came into striking range and its razor-edged incisors ripped through the air, impatient for flesh.

Sidestepping the serpent's charge, Kouha met its head butt with the flat side of his blade, harnessing the force to spin around and leap in for the counterattack. With an adrenaline-induced precision, he sliced the neck of the beast, successfully piercing a vital point. In triumph, Kouha jumped back as the leviathan careened into the surrounding foliage.

Overcome by pride, Kouha failed to notice the tail of the snake whip through the air in his direction. Caught off guard, Kouha was struck in the stomach, knocking him unconscious and sending him flying.

The air whistled past his deafened ears as his limp body was hurled into the lake. Plunging into the water with his eyes glazed, his metallic scabbard started dragging him deeper downward towards the lake's bottom. Water invaded his lungs and his fingers twitched in response to the asphyxiation. Overwhelmed by the suffocation, a reel of memories coursed through his mind. Some were comforting, some shameful, some unfamiliar, and some unforgettable. The blindingly bright images slowly faded into a gray haze.

As Kouha's body fought its imminent demise, a figure near the top of the overlooking mountain jumped off the peak. With a speed surpassing the force of gravitational pull, the man nosedived down the rockface and into the lake. Once submerged, he grabbed Kouha's lifeless body by the collar and dragged him to the surface. Tossing Kouha onto the lakeshore, he rolled him face-up and started pumping Kouha's chest with both hands. The resuscitation having no visible effect, the man pinched Kouha's nose and blew into his mouth.

Kouha coughed violently with a strange taste in his mouth and a reassuring warmth surrounding him. Regaining his vision, he became aware of a disheveled Hakuryuu crouching over him.

"Hakuryuu-onii-san?" he asked in confusion in between coughs.

"Don't speak Kouha-dono."

After catching his breath and coming to his senses, Kouha stood up and bowed deeply, his ruby hair dangling down to the ground. "I am so, so, so sorry for being such a complete idiot."

Hakuryuu, kneeling, touched Kouha's chin with a finger and lifted his face up.

"You would have died if I hadn't decided to come all the way out here for a morning walk. You're lucky I heard that serpent's howl and noticed you being flung into the lake. And you're even luckier that I'm so well versed in magoi manipulation as to be able to accelerate my descent and survive the impact into the water's surface. 'A complete idiot' is quite the understatement."

"I am so, so, so sorry for being so much worse than a complete idiot," Kouha yelped as he sprung upright.

"You couldn't have brought one of your retainers to supervise your training?"

Blushing in embarrassment, Kouha admitted, "I was too ashamed of my inexperience in battle. I mean, En-nii's already captured three dungeons, Hakuei-onee-san is now the commanding general for one of our armies, and now even you've become so skilled with magoi manipulation. I wanted to at least impress everyone with my fighting ability."

Hakuryuu sighed, stood up, and clutched Kouha's shoulder in one hand. "Don't be ashamed. We all started somewhere. It's not like we were born with metal vessels and military rank. Take it at your own pace, and please Kouha-dono, try to take more care of your own life."

Kouha's eyes quivered as if he was going to cry, so he shut them tightly and shouted at the ground, "Thank you so much for your kind words and for saving my life! I'll definitely bring retainers the next time I want to train!" Kouha bowed deeply again, and ran off, using the Kou Empire's teleportation magic to return to the palace.

Hakuryuu looked off into the distance, shook his head, and continued on his morning walk.

The rest of the day went by unremarkably, without them encountering each other again. That is, however, until that same night when Hakuryuu heard his name being called from the corridor leading to his private quarters.

"Hakuryuu-onii-san, it's Kouha. Can I enter?"

"It would be my pleasure, Kouha-dono."

A meek Kouha snuck in under the curtains draped over the entranceway to Hakuryuu's personal chamber. Hakuryuu was hunched over his desk with a number of scrolls sprawled in front of him. Standing up from his chair, Hakuryuu bowed and greeted him, "Konbanwa, Kouha-dono."

Kouha nervously jumped, his hair jittering like clumsy sparks, and hastily bowed back in response. "Konbanwa, Hakuryuu-onii-san."

"Is there something I can help you with, Kouha-dono?"

"Y-y-yes! A-ano… Th-thank you again for this morning!" Kouha bowed again. "I really can't express my gratitude enough."

Hakuryuu smiled kindly. "It was my pleasure that I happened to be there in time. We are family, after all."

Kouha smiled back in relief. "A-actually, I came here for another reason."

Hakuryuu tilted his head in modest curiosity.

"Well, it seems that the trauma from drowning somehow revived memories from the distant past that I'd long forgotten."

Hakuryuu furrowed his brows in confusion.

"You see, when I was very young, Lady Gyokuen would tell me a lot of stories."

Hakuryuu grimaced in disgust.

"A-and one of those stories was how she killed your entire household and was responsible for the burn marks on your face."

Hakuryuu's pupils contracted in repulsion and his mouth curved as if he had something very bitter in it. He spat out, "And?"

"I-It looks like the only ones who know about what happened are her, you, and me."

Hakuryuu looked at Kouha with a heated loathing.

"A-And I realized you must hate the Kou Empire and harbor a lot of unrequited pain and anguish. I-I've always been curious about you, onii-san, but you've always been so distant from everyone. Now that I know why," Kouha gulped and scrunched his eyes shut, "I'll offer myself to you as a token of regret and apology. Please, do what you want with me."

Hakuryuu slanted his head and sadistically squinted at Kouha. In a low tone, he asked, "Are you being serious?"

"Yes!" Kouha squeaked.

Still scrunching his eyes closed, Kouha felt a cloth being wrapped over his eyelids. Hakuryuu knotted the blindfold at the back of Kouha's head and whispered into his ear in a perverse tone, "Do as I say, okay? We're going to go somewhere fun."

Kouha gave an uneasy nod, and Hakuryuu pushed Kouha's shoulder, spinning him to face the entranceway. Kouha then felt a cold sharp sting on the back of his neck.

"Walk," Hakuryuu commanded with his polearm pressed against the nape of Kouha's neck.

Kouha obeyed, and they proceeded through the corridor like an executioner bringing a prisoner to the guillotine. Once they reached the chamber that Hakuryuu had sought, they entered, and Hakuryuu removed the weapon off from Kouha's skin.

Facing each other in a strange empty room, Hakuryuu commanded him, "Strip."

"Y-yes, Hakuryuu-onii-san."

Kouha unraveled his robes and let them fall to the ground until the only thing left on his body was a pair of tan boxers.

Hakuryuu threw a coil of rope at Kouha's bare chest. Unprepared, Kouha fumbled trying to catch the rope. "Bind your ankles," Hakuryuu ordered.

"Yes, onii-san," Kouha spoke in submission. He crouched down and tied his ankles together in a tight knot.

Once the rope was secure, he attempted to stand back up, but he felt the wooden shaft of Hakuryuu's polearm pressing down on his shoulder. "Kneel," Hakuryuu commanded. In compliance, Kouha got on his knees, pressing his naked shins against the cold stone floor.

"Put your hands behind your back," Hakuryuu instructed. Kouha did so and felt the coarse rope being tied around his wrists as well.

Hakuryuu gazed at Kouha, bound and blindfolded. "You look really beautiful like this, you know," Hakuryuu sneered.

"Th-thank you, Hakuryuu-onii-san."

"But you looked even more beautiful when you were choking to death in the water, don't you think? How about we relive that glamorous experience?" Hakuryuu's eyes widened in animosity and his mouth curled into a wide carnivorous grin.

He dipped his spear into a vase of ice-cold water resting at the side of the room, and suspended his weapon above Kouha's upturned feet. Slowly dripping the freezing fluid onto Kouha's impish toes, his eyes lit up each time Kouha jolted from the shock. He wedged the frozen blade in between them, and Kouha fought not to curl them for fear of being sliced. Coating his weapon with the frigid liquid again, he stroked Kouha's gracefully arched soles, moved it across his spritely heels, and caressed his delicate ankles.

Keeping the blade dripping, he rubbed it along Kouha's firm alabaster calves and up his virgin ivory thighs. Tracing the poised arch of Kouha's back, he weaved his spear between the lavender locks of Kouha's hair, which were undignifiedly tumbling down to the floor. Reaching the nape of his neck again, he slowly circled around Kouha, dragging the metal edge around his neck until it rested just above his Adam's apple. The icewater dripped down his juvenile chest, forming a delta across his erect pink nipples, trickling down his soft abdomen, and pooling in his delicate navel.

Kouha's teeth clattered and his entire body shook from hypothermia. His skin was riddled in goose bumps and his rosy fingernails dug into his palms as he squeezed his hands into fists to cope with the torture. Although the polearm hadn't touched it yet, his blindfold was completely soaked, not in the vase's water but in Kouha's own tears.

With the blade still threatening Kouha's throat, Hakuryuu began his interrogation. "What did you hope to gain from this?" he barked.

Fearing his throat being slit, Kouha struggled to whisper, "I could never connect with you in all the time we've lived together. I wanted to do something that would mean something to you because I really do want to get to know you better. When I realized the truth about your past, I wanted to relieve you of some of that stress that you'd been carrying."

Hakuryuu removed the spear from Kouha's jugular, crouched to Kouha's level, and brought his own face dangerously close to Kouha's. Centimeters apart from each other, Kouha felt Hakuryuu squeezing his cheeks together. With Kouha's lips scrunched up, Hakuryuu derisively spat into his mouth. Kouha, startled, jerked his head back

"Your mouth is so filthy," Hakuryuu whispered.

Kouha then felt Hakuryuu remove the grip from his cheeks and heard him stand up again and walk around the room. Without warning, Kouha felt a burning rush of torment engulf him as Hakuryuu poured the entire vase of water over his head.

His body completely drenched and his locks of hair as heavy as is heart, he felt the ropes around his hands being sawed off. Then, Kouha felt the air in front of his face quiver as Hakuryuu violently slashed the blindfold apart.

Looking up, Kouha saw Hakuryuu with an indescribable expression on his face. It reminded him of Lady Gyokuen, with a smile so wide it looked like it was painful and eyes fiery from brutal pleasure.

Hakuryuu announced casually, "You didn't really do much for my stress, but playing with you kind of killed some time. Thanks, I guess."

Hakuryuu sneered, and strolled out of the room, leaving a distraught and haggard Kouha alone on his knees, looking at the ground in misery.

For the following couple days, no matter where Hakuryuu went, he could never seem to find Kouha. Then, one late evening, Hakuryuu heard a sound from the corridor leading to his private quarters.

"Hakuryuu-onii-san, it's Kouha. Can I come in?"

"Uh – Y-Yes!"

A timid Kouha snuck under the curtains and strolled into the chamber.

Hakuryuu, who had been looking out his window, jumped slightly at seeing Kouha in person again. Before Kouha could say anything, Hakuryuu immediately bowed as deep as he possibly could, and with his head facing the floor, he confessed frantically, "Kouha-dono, please accept my deepest apologies for my unforgivable exploitation of your sincere kindness. There are no excuses for my actions. I beg you to bring me before the royal guards for a fit punishment."

"Why?"

"Wh-Why?" Hakuryuu repeated, thoroughly confused. He tilted his head up to see Kouha wearing a profoundly disturbing expression. Hakuryuu would have never thought that Kouha, so immature and full of innocent mischief, could ever make a face like what he was seeing right now before his very own eyes.

Kouha was smiling as if he was gritting sand in his teeth, and his eyes looked like those of a fresh corpse. "I came to play some more with Hakuryuu-onii-san."


End file.
